Books with title changes between announcement and publication:Updated 03-Jul-2013

"Automobiles of Gabriel Voisin (The)" by Pascal Courteault, ISBN 0-904568-51-2. Eventually published as "Automobiles Voisin", in French, with a separate English translation by Peter Hull: ISBN 0-904568-72-5.

"Baja - 1000 Miles To Glory" by Marty Fiolka, published instead as "1000 Miles To Glory".

"Bred To Win - Twenty Years Of The Suzuki GSX-R" by Marc Cook, published instead as "Suzuki GSX-R - A Legacy of Performance".

"Bettenhausen Story (The) - A Complete Illustrated History Of The World's First Family Of Auto Racing" By Carl Hungness. Advertised in Racing Cars magazine Vol. 1 No.2. To have been published in 1977. Published instead as "Go! - The Bettenhausen Story" in 1982.

"Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Stock Car Racing" by Richard Sowers, published instead as "Complete Statistical History Of Stock Car Racing (The)".

"Ferrari F1 2000 - The Analysis Of A Modern Grand Prix Car" by Wright, published instead as "Ferrari Formula 1 - Under the Skin of the Championship Winning F1-2000".

"The Hanuman Story: The History of ERA R12B and R12C" by Timothy May, originally scheduled to be published in 2003, published instead as "ERA Man" in 2011.

"Jackie Stewart '69" by Eric Dymock, published as "Jackie Stewart: World Champion". Original title appears on the uncorrected proof, as reported by Vitesse2.

"Leader Card Racers - A Passion For Speed" by Gordon White, published instead as "Leader Card Racers - A Dynasty Of Speed".

"Martin Brundle - Behind the Wheel" by Brundle & Maurice Hamilton, published instead as "Martin Brundle - Working the Wheel".

"McGovern/Bevan - Saloon Car Champions" by Martyn Evans. To have been published in 2001. Title changed to "The British Saloon Car Championship (1958-1972) - Highlighting the Triple-Winning Era of the Bevan & McGovern Imp" by Martyn Morgan Jones. Published in 2010.

"NASCAR Engines - The History Of America's Racing Engines" by John Carollo and William Holder. Originaly scheduled to be published by David Bull in 2005, published instead as "Famous Stock Car Engines" in 2012.

"Adventure On Wheels - A Race Through Life" by John Fitch, a second edition of his 1959 autobiography. Scheduled to be published by Race Legends in 2004. Author deceased.

"Alfa Romeo 158/159" by DS Jenkinson. ISBN 0-904568-29-6. Never published. To have been published by White Mouse Editions, listed on the back flap of "Mercedes Benz Grand Prix Racing 1934-55".

"American Endurance 1999 - ALMS USRRC & Le Mans", announced in 1999.

"Anatomy Of A Bugatti Royale" by Gerald Wingrove. To have been published by Haynes in 1993.

"Argentine Grand Prix Races 1971-1981" by Hernan Lopez Laiseca. To have been published by Iconografix in Oct. 2011, but has vanished from Amazon.com in the US, and is not listed at the Iconografix web site.

"Golden Age Of The Italian Racing Car" - Griffth Borgeson. To have been published by Norton in 1995. Author deceased.

Group A History by Jesper O. Hansen. Link. As of 13-Oct-2011, the author says it is unlikely to be completed. Link.

"Group B Source Book" by Trevor Alder. To have been published in the Transport Source Book series.

"Harry Miller Racing Genius" - Patricia Borgeson, To have been pubished in 2003. Possibly a planned reprint of "Miller" by Griffith Borgeson. [url="http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Miller-Racing-Patricia-Borgeson/dp/0760312117/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top""]Link.[/url]

"Helio Castroneves - The Spiderman Of Indy" by Castroneves & Alexandre Peconick. To have been published by Sports Publishing in 2007, ISBN 1596700084. Probably replaced by "Victory Road: The Ride of My Life" by Castroneves, published in 2010.

"International Sports Car Racing" by Gregor Grant. To have been published by Foulis, probably in 1954. Listed in an advertisement in "Formula 3 Yearbook 1953-1954".

"Mein Mann Der Rennfahrer" by Elly Rosemeyer. English edition. While it was never published, there is at least one copy, which may be an author's proof, that was owned by Earl Howe and is now in private hands. Also, it is stated in "It Beats Working" by Eoin Young that a German collector bought another copy in a second-hand bookshop in Zurich in 1960. One copy, with the title "My Husband the Motor-Racer", translated by Clarice M. Preston and published by Massie in 1939, is apparently in the German National Library as listed at Worldcat.org.

"Montlhery" by Boddy as an edition published by the Motoraces Book Club (MBC), not as the well-known Cassell edition. However, JM Dent who owned MBC seems to have purchased the remaining stock of the original Cassell edition, and MBC leaflets offered it as a free gift to new subscribers. For more discussion of what was published as MBC editions, start here.

"My Checkered Past - An Autobiography" by A.J. Foyt. To have been published by Harper in 2006. ISBN 0060572086

"OSCA - The Truth And The Rumors" by Phillipe Olczyk. Announced in 2003. Still on this website.

"Peugeot (The)" by William Court. Announced as part of the Macdonald Automobile History series.

"Racing The Porsche 911 - From Monte Carlo 1965 To GT1" by Bill Oursler and Mike Cotton. To have been published by Osprey in 2000.

"Red Mist" by Nigel Stepney. To have been published in 2008. ISBN 0955662249.

"Reliant Scimitar (The)" by Adrian Ball. To have been published by Motor Racing Publications in the Collector's Guide series.

"Sebring 12-Hour Race 1962 Photo Archive" by Robert C.Auten. To have been published by Icongrafix in 1996.
"Sebring 12-Hour Race 1965 Photo Archive" by Robert C.Auten. To have been published by Icongrafix in 1996.

Sitges book offered by Peter Schomer, but never published even after collecting pre-publication deposits. Link.

"Texas Legacy Vol. 2 - Tales From the Golden Days Of Midget Racing in Texas" by Philip LeVrier. To have been published in 1985, according to the ad at the back of "Texas Legacy Vol. 1". Author deceased,

"Supercars For Supermen - German Grand Prix Cars Of The 1930s" by David Hodges. Listed on end flap of the three books in the Donington Monomarques series as a future title, but never published.

Brian Redman autobiography, by Redman & ??. As of 11-Feb-2011, Bill Wagenblatt reports that Redman is considering having Wagenblatt work on the book after Redman and Michael Keyser parted ways, but nothing has been decided. Link

"BRM Vol. 4" By Doug Nye.

"A Chequered Life: Graham Warner and The Chequered Flag" by Richard Heseltine. To be published October 2013. Link.

Colin Crabbe Autobiography.

"Conversations with a Winner - The Ray Nichels Story" by William LaDow. Originally announced in 2003, now scheduled for release in August 2013, according to this site.

"The Development of the Modern Sports Racing Prototype" by Ian Wagstaff.

"Fateful Eight: the Story of the Duesenberg Single Overhead Cam Engines and Cars" by Joe Freeman. Racemaker Press. Link

"Ferrari 330P4 - The Complete Story" by Nathan Beehl & Paul Skett. ISBN 0954694635. Listed on Amazon UK. As of 12-Oct-2011, Beehl says that book has not been started yet, but still hopes to do it. Link.

"John Surtees Autobiography" by Surtees & Robert Edwards. Announced by Time-Warner in 2006, but still unreleased.

Lord Howe biography. On 26-Jun-2009, Ted walker states that a book is being written. Link

Macau Grand Prix 60th Anniversary by Philip Newsome. To be published in 2013. Link.

"Mario's Team" by Gordon Kirby, history of Newman-Haas racing. To have been published in summer 2011, status unknown. Link

Nick Loudon photography book. As of 04-Jun-08, Andrew Kitson hinted that a book will be out in "months to come". Link

"One Fast Car - The Birth of Hisso Racers: Adapting Hispano-Suiza Aero Engines to Dirt Track Racing During the Early 1920s" by Thomas L. De Fazio. To be published by Racemaker Press "in Winter of 2011". Link.

"Time and Two Seats Data Book" by Janos Wimpffen. Covers the same races as the original "Time and Two Seats" but with additional information such as more chassis numbers plus corrections of mistakes--very little text and photos, mostly data. Link.

"Mein Mann Der Rennfahrer" by Elly Rosemeyer. English edition. While it was never published, there is at least one copy, which may be an author's proof, that was owned by Earl Howe and is now in private hands. Also, it is stated in "It Beats Working" by Eoin Young that a German collector bought another copy in a second-hand bookshop in Zurich in 1960. One copy, with the title "My Husband the Motor-Racer", translated by Clarice M. Preston and published by Massie in 1939, is apparently in the German National Library as listed at Worldcat.org.

I hadn't previously seen the information about the copy in the German National Library and that prompted me to check the various British copyright libraries. None of them has one!

However, the publisher's name led me to probable clues as to why this is so rare.

Massie Publishing Ltd was a small firm based at 59 Chancery Lane in London WC2. They were established in 1936 and probably published no more than the ten titles listed on COPAC. Nine of those were translations - of which eight were from German and one from French. There are indications that at least two of those eight were actually printed in Germany: given the German hunger for foreign exchange it probably made economic sense at the time - exports of all sorts were priced artificially low in order to get hold of pounds, dollars, Swiss francs and other hard currency.

Or at least it would have made sense until September 1939.

Massie Publishing Ltd and Photo Record Ltd, a printing company operating from the same address and established at the same time, with the same directors, shareholders and chairman, one Peter John Paine, were both subject to a creditors' voluntary winding-up order in June 1940 and liquidated the following month. It appears that both were front companies actually owned by a Scottish-born German woman called Annie Gallus (née Massie), who left England for Germany just before the war broke out. She later left Germany for Switzerland, where she set up further publishing companies in Zurich.

So, at a rough guess, apart from the copy sent to Earl Howe (and maybe one to the translator?) most of the books - if anything other than proofs were produced - never left Germany and ended up being shredded or pulped. The Gallus/Switzerland connection presumably explains the one found in Zurich ...

I hadn't previously seen the information about the copy in the German National Library and that prompted me to check the various British copyright libraries. None of them has one!

However, the publisher's name led me to probable clues as to why this is so rare.

Massie Publishing Ltd was a small firm based at 59 Chancery Lane in London WC2. They were established in 1936 and probably published no more than the ten titles listed on COPAC. Nine of those were translations - of which eight were from German and one from French. There are indications that at least two of those eight were actually printed in Germany: given the German hunger for foreign exchange it probably made economic sense at the time - exports of all sorts were priced artificially low in order to get hold of pounds, dollars, Swiss francs and other hard currency.

Or at least it would have made sense until September 1939.

Massie Publishing Ltd and Photo Record Ltd, a printing company operating from the same address and established at the same time, with the same directors, shareholders and chairman, one Peter John Paine, were both subject to a creditors' voluntary winding-up order in June 1940 and liquidated the following month. It appears that both were front companies actually owned by a Scottish-born German woman called Annie Gallus (née Massie), who left England for Germany just before the war broke out. She later left Germany for Switzerland, where she set up further publishing companies in Zurich.

So, at a rough guess, apart from the copy sent to Earl Howe (and maybe one to the translator?) most of the books - if anything other than proofs were produced - never left Germany and ended up being shredded or pulped. The Gallus/Switzerland connection presumably explains the one found in Zurich ...

Books that never were - These books were probably never published, and likely never will be:Updated 03-Jul-2013"Ferrari - Racing in North-America 1948-1988" by Nowak and Finn. Announced by Dalton Watson

I have been informed by more than one source that Joel Finn has had a debilitating stroke and as a result his writing days may be over .

Books in the works? Still some hope that these may appear.Updated 03-Jul-2013"Mario's Team" by Gordon Kirby, history of Newman-Haas racing. To have been published in summer 2011, status unknown. Link

It is my understanding, unverified I point out, that the book is on hold pending the outcome of the health problems of Carl Haas.

Frank,
You are right, a little confusing as the two books I have are "John Fitch: Racing Through Life" by James Grinnell, and the "Adventure On Wheels" one published in the '50s but it is titled "Adventure On Wheels, The Autobiography of a Road Racing Champion", and not "Adventure ON Wheels - A Race Through Life". Very interesting!
Jeff.

As to Eagles, yes, I had several titles in the pipeline for a British series that never got off the ground. Corvette was to be another one. Of course I told the Eagle story for MBI -- the first book they ever published!

The Ford GT40 book was indeed published by the SAE, a collection of SAE papers. I had a copy.

I'm glad my book on supercharging wasn't listed amongst those expected but delayed. I'm about half-way through it but have had to deal with other projects in the interim. It will be finished!

One that nudged it aside was a long-overdue update of my Corvette book. This will be published by Bentley in two volumes, the first covering the C1 through C3 -- the Mitchell-Duntov Years. It will be out early next year -- lots and lots of new material, pictures, interpretations etc.

As my humble effort has been mentioned in the august company of 'books in the works' I thought I should provide an update for the benefit of anyone who might be interested. I can confirm that the book is still scheduled for publication and is very much a work in progress rather than a pipe dream. As I am working part time on this project progress does feel agonisingly slow but apparently Rome wasn't built in a day. On reflection I have succeeded in obtaining hundreds of photos, many of them previously unpublished. A great many people have been very generous in this regard. The plan for the book is 99% finalised and I am currently writing the first draft based on the mass of material and personal notes that I have accumulated. I have my own completion target which I don't wish to share publicly as I don't need the added pressure of TNF expectation Hope you can understand. My aim was to produce a quality book and this ethos still stands so I hope the wait will be worthwhile. Thanks for your interest.

As a sort of follow-on to a lot of these projects, what book needs to be written, but has not yet been?

A synthesis of American open-wheel racing pre-WW2 would be top of mine, showing how the championship trail (very short at times) mixed in with the non-championship races and the alternatives like IMCA. Especially how they permeated the popular consciousness. (Michael Ferner, yes, I am looking at you. ) Given the volume of statistical works on other American sports it's surprising - may one say suspicious? - that the same level of detail is unavailable for US racing.

Hand in hand with this would be stories about some of the drivers. Gary Doyle has done some sterling work, but it is astonishing that Louie Meyer lived almost into the 21st century and there is no (auto)biography.

I would also like to see a biog of Achille Varzi in English - let's get to the bottom of the story.

And I'd love to see a detailed look on the minor garagistes of the seventies and eighties. We've got something there - Teddy Yip and Osella books - but I can imagine a book with chapters on Ensign, Martini, Trojan, Tecno and so on. Unfortunately I can also imagine the readership might be quite small...at least magazines can go some way to cover those.

I would also like to see a biog of Achille Varzi in English - let's get to the bottom of the story.

Agreed, and I'd like to see something new and more comprehensive on one of my own favourites, Bernd Rosemeyer. As far as I know, all that's out there is the Elli Bein/Chris Nixon book, good in its way, but I'm sure there's more that could be told.

One book that I've suggested before is potted biographies of one-time GP winners. As there about 20 of them each could have one chapter. And a companion volume could cover the seven constructors.

Find a publisher and you've got yourself a project - but whether you'd have a market is too hard to say.However Julian's book of the potted histories of the many English motor sport venues may show that is the way forward.

Books that never were - These books were probably never published, and likely never will be:Updated 03-Jul-2013

"Red Mist" by Nigel Stepney. To have been published in 2008. ISBN 0955662249.

I've been keeping a vague eye on news of this one and it was rumoured to be finally getting a release for Christmas 2012: http://www.motorspor...ionage-scandal/. Guess it was a bit optimistic. Shame! I'd have bought a copy.

Thanks for all of the additional information and corrections for these lists. The intention is not to motivate authors, but to help the bookistes such as myself keep track of what is out there, particularly for those titles we should simply stop looking for.

I really like the idea of a fourth list, "books we'd like to see", so I will do my best to collect those into one location.

As to Eagles, yes, I had several titles in the pipeline for a British series that never got off the ground. Corvette was to be another one. Of course I told the Eagle story for MBI -- the first book they ever published!

The Ford GT40 book was indeed published by the SAE, a collection of SAE papers. I had a copy.

I'm glad my book on supercharging wasn't listed amongst those expected but delayed. I'm about half-way through it but have had to deal with other projects in the interim. It will be finished!

One that nudged it aside was a long-overdue update of my Corvette book. This will be published by Bentley in two volumes, the first covering the C1 through C3 -- the Mitchell-Duntov Years. It will be out early next year -- lots and lots of new material, pictures, interpretations etc.

Very best to all book people!

Karl -

Thanks for the info, particularly about the new edition of your Corvette book, of which I was not aware.

As for the Ford GT40 book, you may be thinking of either the original "Ford GT40 SAE Papers" published in 1979 by SAE and now scarce and desirable, or the more recent "The Ford GT - New Vehicle Engineering & Technical History of the GT-40", by Csaba Csere, published by SAE in 2004 and still available on amazon.com and at SAE. The Csere book contains reprints of the original SAE papers. I can find no trace on the internet that "Creating The Ford GT40" was ever actually published, although it is listed on many book dealer websites as "currently unavailable". There are also no cover images that I can find. With so many similar titles and subjects, it gets to be a challenge to sort out.

A synthesis of American open-wheel racing pre-WW2 would be top of mine, showing how the championship trail (very short at times) mixed in with the non-championship races and the alternatives like IMCA. Especially how they permeated the popular consciousness. (Michael Ferner, yes, I am looking at you. ) Given the volume of statistical works on other American sports it's surprising - may one say suspicious? - that the same level of detail is unavailable for US racing.

It seems like our own Don Capps is working on this:

"A Record Of United States National and Championship Racing to 1920", two volumes, by Don Capps. Link.

One book that I've suggested before is potted biographies of one-time GP winners. As there about 20 of them each could have one chapter. And a companion volume could cover the seven constructors.

There is book that covers this, however it isn't very good. Each driver only gets 2-3 pages and is written in the manner of someone who knows the sport, but was just reciting the results and no input from any personal source, just facts.

In 1985, he went to Ligier where he scored 12 points, reaching the podium at Hockenheim and finished 10th in the Championship. At the end of the season he was offered a drive with Brabham

You are right though that there is some fascinating stories amongst them. And bizarrely a club that got 1 smaller this year.

About to post substantially revised versions of the "Books in the works" and "Books that never were" lists. The "Books in the works" list has had several upcoming books from amazon.com added. The "Books that never were" list has greatly benefited from information provided by proviz (Esa Illoinen), many thanks!! I've identified entries that were newly added, updated, or moved.

"Adventure On Wheels - A Race Through Life" by John Fitch, a second edition of his 1959 autobiography. Scheduled to be published by Race Legends in 2004. Author deceased.

"Alfa Romeo 158/159" by DS Jenkinson. ISBN 0-904568-29-6. Never published. To have been published by White Mouse Editions, listed on the back flap of "Mercedes Benz Grand Prix Racing 1934-55".

NEWLY ADDED: "Alfa Romeo Tipo 33" by Tony Adriansens, announced on the back pages of "Allegerita". May have been cancelled due to publication of "Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 - The Development & Racing History" by Collins and McDonough (Veloce, 2005).

"American Endurance 1999 - ALMS USRRC & Le Mans", announced in 1999.

"Anatomy Of A Bugatti Royale" by Gerald Wingrove. To have been published by Haynes in 1993.

"Argentine Grand Prix Races 1971-1981" by Hernan Lopez Laiseca. To have been published by Iconografix in Oct. 2011, but has vanished from Amazon.com in the US, and is not listed at the Iconografix web site.

NEWLY ADDED: "Chevron History" by Robin Smith and Graham Gauld, mentioned in the 80s in Autosport.

"Coopers (The)" by Cyril Posthumus. Listed on end flap of the three books in the Donington Monomarques series as a future title, but never published.

"Creating The Ford GT40 - America`s First Le Mans Winner" by Teske, Lyons & Smith. To have been published by SAE in 2007. ISBN 0768009219

"Cyclecars And Light Cars" by Michael Worthington-Williams. May have been an unreleased book in the Dalton Watson Beaulieu Books series.

NEWLY ADDED: "Directory of British Sports & GT Cars since 1945", to have been published in the 1990s by Albion Scott.

"Donington" by W. Boddy, Classic Reprint by Veloce, to have been published in 2009 but probably cancelled after the author's death. Still listed on Amazon. Link.

UPDATED: "Eagles (The)" by Karl Ludvigsen. Listed on end flap of the three books in the Donington Monomarques series as a future title, but never published. Supplanted by "Gurney's Eagles" (MBI, 1976).

"Golden Age Of The Italian Racing Car" - Griffth Borgeson. To have been published by Norton in 1995. Author deceased.

Group A History by Jesper O. Hansen. Link. As of 13-Oct-2011, the author says it is unlikely to be completed. Link.

"Group B Source Book" by Trevor Alder. To have been published in the Transport Source Book series.

"Harry Miller Racing Genius" - Patricia Borgeson, To have been pubished in 2003. Possibly a planned reprint of "Miller" by Griffith Borgeson. [url="http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Miller-Racing-Patricia-Borgeson/dp/0760312117/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top""]Link.[/url]

"Helio Castroneves - The Spiderman Of Indy" by Castroneves & Alexandre Peconick. To have been published by Sports Publishing in 2007, ISBN 1596700084. Probably replaced by "Victory Road: The Ride of My Life" by Castroneves, published in 2010.

"International Sports Car Racing" by Gregor Grant. To have been published by Foulis, probably in 1954. Listed in an advertisement in "Formula 3 Yearbook 1953-1954".

"Mein Mann Der Rennfahrer" by Elly Rosemeyer. English edition. While it was never published, there is at least one copy, which may be an author's proof, that was owned by Earl Howe and is now in private hands. Also, it is stated in "It Beats Working" by Eoin Young that a German collector bought another copy in a second-hand bookshop in Zurich in 1960. One copy, with the title "My Husband the Motor-Racer", translated by Clarice M. Preston and published by Massie in 1939, is apparently in the German National Library as listed at Worldcat.org.

"Montlhery" by Boddy as an edition published by the Motoraces Book Club (MBC), not as the well-known Cassell edition. However, JM Dent who owned MBC seems to have purchased the remaining stock of the original Cassell edition, and MBC leaflets offered it as a free gift to new subscribers. For more discussion of what was published as MBC editions, start here.

"My Checkered Past - An Autobiography" by A.J. Foyt. To have been published by Harper in 2006. ISBN 0060572086

"OSCA - The Truth And The Rumors" by Phillipe Olczyk. Announced in 2003. Still on this website.

"Peugeot (The)" by William Court. Announced as part of the Macdonald Automobile History series.

"Racing The Porsche 911 - From Monte Carlo 1965 To GT1" by Bill Oursler and Mike Cotton. To have been published by Osprey in 2000.

MOVED TO IN THE WORKS LIST: "Red Mist" by Nigel Stepney.

"Reliant Scimitar (The)" by Adrian Ball. To have been published by Motor Racing Publications in the Collector's Guide series.

"Sebring 12-Hour Race 1962 Photo Archive" by Robert C.Auten. To have been published by Icongrafix in 1996.
"Sebring 12-Hour Race 1965 Photo Archive" by Robert C.Auten. To have been published by Icongrafix in 1996.

Sitges book offered by Peter Schomer, but never published even after collecting pre-publication deposits. Link.

"Texas Legacy Vol. 2 - Tales From the Golden Days Of Midget Racing in Texas" by Philip LeVrier. To have been published in 1985, according to the ad at the back of "Texas Legacy Vol. 1". Author deceased,

"Supercars For Supermen - German Grand Prix Cars Of The 1930s" by David Hodges. Listed on end flap of the three books in the Donington Monomarques series as a future title, but never published.

"Around the Raceway" by Terry Walker. Announced by author on 04-Oct-06, but the web site he listed has vanished. Link

NEWLY ADDED: "Autocourse Official Illustrated History of the Indianapolis 500: Revised and Updated Second Edition" by Donald Davidson and Rick Shaffer, to be published on Oct. 1, 2013 by Icon Publishing. Link.

"BMW Ultimate Drives Vol. 2 1983-2011" by Jeremy Walton. To be published by Coterie.

Brian Redman autobiography, by Redman & ??. As of 11-Feb-2011, Bill Wagenblatt reports that Redman is considering having Wagenblatt work on the book after Redman and Michael Keyser parted ways, but nothing has been decided. Link

"BRM Vol. 4" By Doug Nye.

NEWLY ADDED: "The Cars of Trans-Am Racing: 1966-1972", by David Tom, to be published Oct. 15, 2013 by CarTech. Link.

"A Chequered Life: Graham Warner and The Chequered Flag" by Richard Heseltine. To be published October 2013. Link.

Colin Crabbe Autobiography.

"Conversations with a Winner - The Ray Nichels Story" by William LaDow. Originally announced in 2003, now scheduled for release in August 2013, according to this site.

UPDATED: "The Development of the Modern Sports Racing Prototype" by Ian Wagstaff. Due to be published on Sep. 15, 2013 by Veloce. Link.

NEWLY ADDED: "Don Prudhomme: The Story behind the Snake" by Don Prudhomme and Bill Stevens, to be published on Jan 2, 2014 by Sports Publishing. Link.

"Fateful Eight: the Story of the Duesenberg Single Overhead Cam Engines and Cars" by Joe Freeman. Racemaker Press. Link

"Ferrari 330P4 - The Complete Story" by Nathan Beehl & Paul Skett. ISBN 0954694635. Listed on Amazon UK. As of 12-Oct-2011, Beehl says that book has not been started yet, but still hopes to do it. Link.

MOVED TO NEVER WERE LIST: "Ferrari 641/2 - Evolution & Development 1989-1991" by A. Matthews. Link has vanished.

NEWLY ADDED: "First Principles: The Official Biography of Keith Duckworth" by Norman Burr, to be published Sep. 1, 2014 by Veloce Link.

Ford GT40 by Ronnie Spain. Two volumes, currently scheduled to appear at the Goodwood revival, September 2013.

"John Surtees Autobiography" by Surtees & Robert Edwards. Announced by Time-Warner in 2006, but still unreleased.

NEWLY ADDED: "Le Mans Legendary Race Cars: 90 Years of Speed" by Stuart Codling et al. to be published on Nov. 15, 2013 by Motorbooks. Link.

Lord Howe biography. On 26-Jun-2009, Ted walker states that a book is being written. Link

Macau Grand Prix 60th Anniversary by Philip Newsome. To be published in 2013. Link.

UPDATED: "Mario's Team" by Gordon Kirby, history of Newman-Haas racing. To have been published in summer 2011, on hold pending oucome of health problems of Carl Haas.Link

NEWLY ADDED: "Maserati: A Century of History The Official Book" by Luca Dal Monte et al., to be published March 1, 2014 by Nada. Link.

Nick Loudon photography book. As of 04-Jun-08, Andrew Kitson hinted that a book will be out in "months to come". Link

"One Fast Car - The Birth of Hisso Racers: Adapting Hispano-Suiza Aero Engines to Dirt Track Racing During the Early 1920s" by Thomas L. De Fazio. To be published by Racemaker Press "in Winter of 2011". Link.

"Peugeot Racing in America", pre-WW II history, by Sarah Morgan-Wu and James O’Keefe, to be published by Racemaker Press in 2012. Link.

"Porsche Racing History" - Randy Leffingwell, to be published by David Bull. Leffingwell web site.

"A Record Of United States National and Championship Racing to 1920", two volumes, by Don Capps. Link.

NEWLY ADDED: "Red Mist" by Nigel Stepney. To have been published in 2008. ISBN 0955662249. Recently rumored to have been scheduled for publication in Dec, 2012. Link.

NEWLY ADDED: "Return to Glory!: The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Racing Car" by Robert Ackerson, to be published Dec. 15, 2013 by Veloce. Link.

NEWLY ADDED: "Riverside International Raceway: A Photographic Tour of the Historic Track, Its Legendary Races, and Unforgettable Drivers" by Pete Lyons, to be published on May 13, 2014 by Spry Publishing. Link.

Rondeau by John Starkey.

UPDATED: Rudolf Caracciola book by Simon Davis. Still in progess as of July 2013.Link.

"Second To One: The Great Drivers Who Never Won Indy" - by Joe Freeman, Gordon Kirby and Tom Saal. Racemaker Press. Link

NEWLY ADDED: "The Supercharging Story" by Karl Ludvigsen, to be published by Haynes link, delayed due to production of new edition of Karl's Corvette book link.

"Time and Two Seats Data Book" by Janos Wimpffen. Covers the same races as the original "Time and Two Seats" but with additional information such as more chassis numbers plus corrections of mistakes--very little text and photos, mostly data. Link.

UPDATED: USRRC - United States Road Racing Championship 1963 - 1968, by Mike Martin (grimeheel), Dead Pedal Press. As of Mid-June, author says book is due to be published in September 2013. Link to order form.

As a sort of follow-on to a lot of these projects, what book needs to be written, but has not yet been?

A synthesis of American open-wheel racing pre-WW2 would be top of mine, showing how the championship trail (very short at times) mixed in with the non-championship races and the alternatives like IMCA. Especially how they permeated the popular consciousness. (Michael Ferner, yes, I am looking at you. )

Thanks, Mr. 14 - the cheque is in the post!

Perhaps not surprisingly, I have been thinking about publication lately, having accumulated quite a treasure of detailed insight on the subject matter over the last few years, much of which is simply not available to the public at all - while it's true that most of my sources are available to everyone and all, what is still missing is the "big picture", which ties those many facets together, and which is thoroughly lacking in most publications so far, as Enny so rightfully observed. Addressing that very issue is high on my priority list - easier said than done, however!

While I'm juggling with several seperate ideas in my mind, it could actually be useful to have some feedback before deciding on which one to put forward to a publisher - which, eventually, may very well necessitate a complete rethink and start from scratch, but anyway... So, thanks for the introduction, let's hear some comment!

One of the oldest, yet still one of the most attractive ideas would be a race-by-race compendium of US National Championship racing, à la "Grand Prix!" by Mike Lang. The way Lang manages to tell his story in a mostly concise, yet (at times) staggeringly detailed format has always appealed to me; his inclusion of the most important technical issues, the politics and all the personnel involved, not only the drivers, and finally some very old-fashioned what-exactly-happened race reports. It's a fine line to walk between boring detail and shallow overview, and it would be quite a challenge - make no mistake! But it would definitely allow for that "big picture" to be painted around the egdes of the National Championship trail, with all the changes and transformations of its own. A worthwhile challenge, in short.

Don Capps has been mentioned several times as working on an up-to-1920 story, which I really do not think of as a rival project. First of all, the colonel's "angle of attack" is quite different from mine, and we wouldn't be covering too much common ground anyway: the championship really got going only after 1920, and the twenties and thirties are most dear to my heart, no question. Actually, both projects could easily be seen as complementing each other, and there'd even be room for further volumes, covering the post-war years...

One other potential problem has, most recently, led directly to another idea, or "project": for some simple reasons, like access to period sources of certain localities, some race reports would likely remain pretty basic, while others could be made quite detailed, and deservedly so - I have so much info from Altoona papers, for example, that it would be a shame to leave out much of it because it wouldn't look "right" to have, say, two pages about an Altoona race but only half a page about the next one in Charlotte. And while that could be overcome to a certain extent, there's always Indy... which made me think - in jest, at first! - I could actually do Indy 500 Yearbooks for the pre-war era! Not to the same standard as the Hungness yearbooks, of course, but I have daily reports from the track from Indianapolis newspapers up to the early thirties, and they are quite detailed, thank you! Together with all the stuff I already have, it would be possible to make really interesting yearbooks - driver profiles, car histories, detailed statistics and background stories. Really, everything is basically there, but I would most certainly need assistance from the Speedway itself (pictures, promotion) as the cover price would have to be kept pretty low to generate sales (I can work for next to nothing, but I can't sponsor myself). Just a thought...

Another idea ripening for quite some time already has the working title "Miller (Hi)Stories" - and really, that's what it's all about: individual car histories with lots of short, essay-like stories about races, drivers, owners, mechanics, wives and girlfriends. Really, anything to do with some of the zanier characters involved with racing Millers over the years. Then, of course, including a general racing history of Miller, much like David McKinney's "Maserati 250F" book, for example: year by year, and then car by car. Could actually be stretched into two or three volumes. Love it!

Another more recent idea: a sort of "Black Book" history of AAA racing. I have so many race results in my data base, they should be made public. Then again, that's not an easy thing to do... I'm aware of Darren Galpin's attempts, and that's exactly what I want to avoid: an endless string of statistics, with no context at all. No disrespect for his efforts, which must be enormous, but I think it serves no purpose, it's just a meaningless mass of data, impossible to navigate. Still, I think it can be done, and that's the challenge. It would be necessary to restrict the text to just a few sentences per race, introductions and summaries per year, and no pictures at all - just like the F1R books. I don't like the F1R layout, so it's no option to join them (unless they are open for revolution ), but overall this lends itself to self-publishing. Needs a bit more thought, though.

As for biographies, I agree, some big names from the US are long overdue. I'd really love to do something on Ernie Triplett, for example, but I know my limitations. I can do short bios no end, but a full biography is something else, entirely. Having said that, sometimes I like to surprise myself...

If anyone can do for the 20s and 30s what Dick Wallen (or should that be Bob Schilling?) did for the 50 and 60s, then you are the man!

And in the same way that his books had biographical chapters on the era's leading players like Bryan and Bettenhausen, you could include the Tripletts and Meyers, as well as ensuring the lesser known stars like Billy Winn got their rightful recognition too.

At least the mass of Black Bookesque data counts as a sort of skeleton on which the flesh of the story can be hung. Plus one never knows what might emerge; someone might find a grandfather on there and thence fill another piece of the puzzle, someone else might analyse who was where and when and come up with some patterns. Plus at least it'd be out there.

There's already Wallen's board track book, which is one aspect of racing back then. But we've got an entire thread on here of corrections...

AMERICAN AUTOMOBILE RACING TO 1920
A RECORD OF AUTOMOBILE RACING IN THE UNITED STATES THROUGH ITS FIRST QUARTER CENTURY: FROM 1895 TO THE 1920 SEASON

After the intended publisher decided to not go through with the agreement, for which one cannot blame him given the almost complete lack of a market for such a work, this will now be, for all intents and purposes, an "eBook," in that it will appear only in digital format. Plus, it will easily push somewhere between at least 1,000 to 1,250 pages (or probably more...) by the time it is finished. This is not simply a listing of results, although that is a part of it, but also includes any information regarding an event whenever possible, a review of each season, and is loaded with footnotes. It is primarily aimed at those automotive historians wishing to dig more into this period. No clue when it will be finished, but it will not be any time soon. It will also include those circuit maps and other interesting materials that I stumble across.

I am not a fan of eBooks, and will not be getting this one, but I guess it is better than nothing...